Suit alleges effort to artificially lower the price of wheat in 2011 by buying large amounts of futures contracts

The U.S. commodities regulator sued giant food companies Kraft Foods Group Inc. and Mondelez Global LLC over alleged manipulation of wheat prices in 2011, marking a fresh crackdown on how companies outside the financial industry use derivatives markets.

In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Kraft and its former parent Mondelez earned profits of $5.4 million through a 2011 effort to artificially lower the price of physical wheat by buying large amounts of futures contracts. Kraft...